Used desktop PC? Best bang for the buck?

[GoodEnough]

Need a spare Win7 desktop PC for another room.
Not a gamer beast, but just for typing emails and web browsing.
Any PC made in the last 4 years is more than adequate.

What is the best price/value out there?
Get a brand new one for $500?
Can I go cheaper for something as good?

I am thinking a used Insipron 570 could be an option for $200?
Anything newer than the 570 that would be in the same ballpark price?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Newegg had some DC7900 off-lease "refurbs" with E8400, for $100 with Win7.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883256342

 

[Cerb]

Those, and Thinkcentres of similar vintage, are good boxes, especially the SFF ones.

They're well-made, easy to open and service, typically use DDR2 or DDR3, can take any new HDD or SSD, if you want to upgrade that, and replacement parts are readily available through many eBay vendors, and typically not over-priced.

Any with Core 2 or Athlon/Phenom II CPUs >2GHz, Intel or AMD chipsets and IGP (or added Radeon or Geforce cards, but CPU vendor chipsets), 2GB RAM or more, and Win 7, should do the job, for $100-150.

There are also vendors on Amazon and eBay, and TigerDirect, selling similar machines, as well, if you want to look around for best config and prices.

 

[Torn Mind]

http://arrowdirect.com/

Has some interesting options at various price points. If "basic" usage includes 1080p playback, I would consider getting a modern era chip--I will define modern era in this context as Sandy Bridge/Piledriver or later--, even a budget Celeron or A4, to do the task.

But some of those Core 2 Duo systems are really good price-wise, and adding a budget video card can be a cheaper solution.

 

[GoodEnough]

DC7900 is $160. I set a "Poach" alert.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883256343

How comparable are these to my Inspiron 570 QuadCore Athlon?
This is from 2010, and I think that's a decent sweet spot
I'm not super picky, but I don't want a 2006 PC, either.
Probably not worth the minimal savings.
I probably prefer something blatantly from the Win7 era.

 

[mfenn]

The Core 2 in that PC is faster at single-threaded (i.e. web browsing) tasks than your Athlon II, but slower at multithreaded. You won't be do as much simultaneously becasue it only has 2GB of RAM versus your 6GB. And of course starting programs, booting, and logging in will be slower because it has an HDD instead of an SSD.

 

[GoodEnough]

Ok, but it's not outrageously slower, in general?

What's the price for upgrading from 2GB to 6GB of RAM these days?
How many RAM slots do they normally have? Not even sure what mind has.

 

[mfenn]

As long as you keep the use light, it's not going to be a ton slower once the browser is open. There are two out of four DIMM slots filled, but I don't think it's worth upgrading since DDR2 is relatively expensive, at least new. You might be able to score a good deal on some used DDR2 though.

 

[Ken g6]

What's the price for upgrading from 2GB to 6GB of RAM these days?

4GB DDR2 is $70. A Kingston 128GB SSD is also $70. There's no real guarantee the computer even has 4 RAM slots (that I saw, anyway) - my Core 2 doesn't. So I'd get the SSD.

 

[VirtualLarry]

4GB DDR2 is $70. A Kingston 128GB SSD is also $70. There's no real guarantee the computer even has 4 RAM slots (that I saw, anyway) - my Core 2 doesn't. So I'd get the SSD.

I don't know about that. An SSD still isn't fast enough to save you if you seriously start thrashing VM. You need real RAM, period. Ask me how I know.

 

[mfenn]

4GB DDR2 is $70. A Kingston 128GB SSD is also $70. There's no real guarantee the computer even has 4 RAM slots (that I saw, anyway) - my Core 2 doesn't. So I'd get the SSD.

Newegg has pictures of the inside of that particular computer, and there are 4 DIMM slots visible. Not that I recommend buying new DDR2 however.

 

[nwo]

Ok, but it's not outrageously slower, in general?

What's the price for upgrading from 2GB to 6GB of RAM these days?
How many RAM slots do they normally have? Not even sure what mind has.

Define general...

It will be significantly slower at multi-tasking, windows start up/shut down, loading applications.... Primarily because of no SSD, only 2GB of RAM, and probably a super slow HDD. But also because you will only have 2 cores to work with and most applications nowadays can handle 4 or more.

For $160 that's a killer deal though especially if you need a monitor. It will probably be pretty weird adjusting to the 17" but at least it's serves its purpose. It's a pity that it comes with 32 bit OS. Means you will be limited to 4GB of RAM.

 

[Carson Dyle]

For that level of build I'd watch the classifieds here and on your local Craigslist. Either build something up component by component or else get a whole system that's being retired. It should be doable for very little money.

 

[nwo]

For that level of build I'd watch the classifieds here and on your local Craigslist. Either build something up component by component or else get a whole system that's being retired. It should be doable for very little money.

If you're gonna go that route, also keep an eye out for 400-600W PSUs on newegg... I grabbed my Corsair CX600 , Thermaltake TR2 600, and evga 500B for ~$30 after MIR. Or you can also just use an old junker if you're not gonna be running a video card with a power connector.

 

[Doppel]

Newegg had some DC7900 off-lease "refurbs" with E8400, for $100 with Win7.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883256342

Seconded. An E8400 with Win7 I've been using at work until recently and it isn't terrible. With a fresh install of Windows 7 and all the corporate crap off it it's extremely capable as a home desktop machine; it will perform browsing just fine, load up MS office all this without frustration.

 

[tren001]

For that level of build I'd watch the classifieds here and on your local Craigslist. Either build something up component by component or else get a whole system that's being retired. It should be doable for very little money.

Yeah if you're in any medium sized city or above and there is an active craigslist community, just look out for posts. I've seen full retired systems, often with Windows and monitor, at less than $350 and they were gaming level rigs which are 2-3 years old.

When I did my recent upgrade, I had half a heart of selling my 3 year old system, but after seeing the local prices, and also not willing to spend all the effort selling off components one at a time, I just bought a cheap case and PSU and rebuilt my old system for secondary use with an older copy of WinXP, because it is just not worth it to sell on the secondary market.

If you do go the craigslist route, you should definitely examine the rig for sale in detail, because these are often custom built PCs by the seller, and you need to make sure all the hardware (and any included OS or software) checks out before handing over several hundred dollars.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Craigslist for a PC is a PITA. At this price point is it really worth the hassle? I'd just get a refurb off dell outlet, newegg, or amazon